Happy Thanksgiving!
Family, friends, and good food! What could be better? Each evening this week, at dinner, I ask my two daughters what they’re thankful for and their answers are that familiar refrain…”friends”, “Mom”, “Dad”, the farm, the food, and movies! And don’t forget the “popcorn”!
I’m very thankful for all of the great people we have working with us here at Frog Hollow Farm. First of course, are my two partners Becky (my wife) and Sarah. Also Arjun and Diana, partners in the financial realm…..it was their investment that helped us purchase and plant 70 acres back in 2001. They’ve become good friends over these last 13 years. Then there is Karen, who’s department is inventory control, but she assists me in everything I do from managing my calendar, ordering equipment repairs, and general communications. Stephanie keeps the books in order and does not miss a single detail. Pearl leads the marketing team, and handles technical stuff, like showing me how to use my I-Pad, I-Phone, etc. Pearl – thank you for your always positive, upbeat outlook and your warm smile each morning.
Each morning at dawn, the first person to see me in my office is always Antnio. He’s an early riser like me, and is definitely a “can do” kind of man, who always gets the job done in the best way possible. He’s the “tree team” leader, in charge of pruning, thinning, picking, and anything at all that needs to be done.
Humberto is our steady guy on the tractor. You couldn’t ask for a better man to be responsible for this critical job, always observant of the slightest operational malfunction. Oh, and he sees more of the orchard than any one because he’s always going up and down each row, mowing or spraying or applying compost. He sees things that I don’t. He always alerts me to any problem that might be developing.
Virgilio is the ground team leader. Another “can do” man who can fix almost anything, so he’s the “go to guy” for any kind of repair work. My packing shed crew is lead by Abel, with always a ready smile. Francisco and Fredi are his right hand – left hand assistants. Francisco likes numbers! A valuable asset to me…he always provides me with accurate reports daily of what I have to sell and where everything is (we have 3 big coolers which are like mazes to anyone but Francisco!). Jose manages our kitchen. He could be known as Mr. Clean….a big macho guy who is fastidious and runs a very tight ship in the kitchen.
We have three new women on our team this year and they’re all great to work with. They are knowledgeable and passionate about food and farming. Anna, Becky’s culinary assistant, is creative with food and a great teacher to our staff at the Farm to Table Café in the Ferry Building. Kristin and Marlene are our winter gardeners, growing delicious “greens” which Anna turns into amazing new menu items for the café.
Last but certainly not least I’m thankful for Lael and Molly, our great CSA leaders. They’ve developed our CSA to a very high level of community service and education for which we can all be very grateful.
And lest I forget, thanks to you all….our loyal CSA members. I’m grateful to you for sharing our values and supporting all of our work.
Warm Holiday Wishes To All,
